UPPER EAST SIDE — An international restaurant chain is threatening to sue family owned Second Avenue eatery Selena Rosa Mexicana if it doesn't change its name and logo, which the chain store claims is too similar to theirs.
Rosa Mexicano — with restaurants in 13 cities in the U.S. and overseas, according to its website — sent a letter to the 1712 Second Ave. eatery on March 7 threatening "immediate legal action" if it did not assure them within 10 days of a branding change.
“I think it’s a little ridiculous," said Selena Rosa owner Sam Musouic, who took over the location two years ago. "We definitely don’t see the similarities at all. Selena and Rosa Mexicano to me is totally different."
Musouic says he and his family have already spent more than $100,000 on branding and advertising, and they wouldn't be able to afford to start again from scratch. They fear they would instead be forced to close if the chain moves forward with its threat — leaving roughly 30 workers without jobs, he said.
"We are a small restaurant and the restaurant that is suing this restaurant is a big corporation, so it's kind of unfair," said manager Armando Mercado, 52, who has worked at the location for 14 years, starting under different ownership when it was called Cilantro.
"The workers are now worried about if they are going to lose their jobs and how they are going to find another one to keep supporting their families."
But Rosa Mexicano's lawyers claim the Upper East Side eatery's name and logo is "extremely damaging" to the chain and "the public as it has caused confusion in the marketplace among consumers," according to a March 7 cease-and-desist letter.
In addition, Selena Rosa is within "walking distance" of the original Rosa Mexicano location on First Avenue and East 58th Street and its menu has similar dishes, like "Guacamole en Molcajete" and "Grilled Chimichurri Skirt Steak" — which adds to the confusion, lawyers wrote.
A lawyer for Rosa Mexicano declined to comment further on the letter when reached by phone Monday.
Musouic, who also owns Upper East Side restaurants Sojourn and Vero, said he has no plans to change the name of his restaurant, adding that they have trademarked Selena Rosa, and the chain can't take them down "without a fight."
"It would seriously impede our way to do business," Musouic said. "We just want to continue doing what we're doing."
